Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Some local transgender folks are balancing fear, uncertainty and resilience as public agencies in Lawrence scramble to understand how to enforce Kansas’ new anti-trans bathroom legislation.
Attorneys will argue Friday in Douglas County court over whether a judge should delay enforcement of a state law that invalidates driver’s licenses and birth certificates for those who changed their gender marker and restricts bathroom use based on sex assigned at birth.
Two transgender men from Lawrence are suing the state over a new law that invalidates driver’s licenses and restricts bathroom use based on sex assigned at birth, citing numerous constitutional rights and fear of violence.
Some transgender Kansans received letters urging them to request new IDs that conflict with their gender identity and presentation, because their current ones are “invalid immediately.” It’s the result of a new law that also regulates which bathrooms transgender people are allowed to use.
State officials are delving into the language of the law that will force people to use bathroom and private facilities in government buildings that match their sex assigned at birth, challenged by vague language that makes it difficult to know what to do.
Republicans in the Kansas Legislature have forced restrictions on bathroom use by transgender people into state law by overriding the governor’s veto.
The Kansas Senate overturned Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto on Tuesday, putting the state one step closer to forcing people to use bathrooms in government buildings that match their biological sex at birth.
Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a GOP-led bill on Friday that bans transgender people from using restrooms and locker rooms according to their gender identity.
For many trans Kansans and allied activists, Friday’s “pee-in” wasn’t their first time in the state Capitol building in Topeka. Years of commitment to the cause led to the day’s event.
The GOP-led Kansas House and Senate on Wednesday suspended rules to approve a “bathroom bill” targeting transgender people after House Democrats delayed passage by six hours.
